Our understanding of substance abuse treatment has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few decades, helped along by some authoritative studies. Today a growing number of professional psychologists dismiss the “ disease ” theory as antiquated at best and bigoted at worst, and many prefer to treat addicts as human beings just like everybody else. The upside of this approach is that it helps demystify addiction as a concept, placing such behaviors back rightfully within the context of basic psychology.

Of course understanding this point in the abstract and putting it into practice are two very different things, and it may not surprise you to learn that different treatment centers show different rates of success. These days, one of the most popular approaches involves mixing and matching different therapies to suit each individual's needs—custom-made recovery, if you will. The treatment programs that get this balance right boast success rates that simply dwarf those of more established institutions.

It is important throughout recovery to stay in touch with the people you love back home. A common error is to create a separate world in recovery, giving addicts everything they need to stay sober while denying them any of the temptations at home. Such an approach often fails for obvious reasons, so properly integrated recovery has become a chief priority of many substance abuse treatment centers .

If you want to get started immediately, the Web should provide some outstanding resources to help you along. Look for individual care and strong talk therapy and you could find yourself on the path to lasting sobriety within a matter of weeks.